Taconic State Park, 10/8-11/2004

We were supposed to go to Ward Pound Ridge, but the weather was so nice that every site at Pound Ridge was reserved. When we learned this on Thursday October 7, we called everyone and told them to go instead to the Copake Falls Campground of Taconic State Park. Some people cancelled, but five of us went to Taconic State Park.

We took sites 35 and 36 in the B loop. Site 39 is further into the woods, but it was already taken. The bathrooms, showers and hiking trails were very conveniently located. An entrance to the trail system was directly behind our sites.

Three of us arrived on Friday and we bought wood for a campfire (there was very little dry wood to be scavenged). Towards the end of the evening, I decided on the spur of the moment to walk the mile and a half to Bashbish Falls. I followed the South Taconic Trail through the woods and across Route 344, but in the dark I didn’t see the signs for Bashbish Falls. Instead, I followed the trail into the Bashbish cabin area and wound up at a dead end. So I walked back and went to sleep.

On Saturday, two more campers arrived and we hiked to Bashbish Falls. It was easy to find in the daylight. We ate lunch there and then hiked to Sunset Rock Point. The view was excellent, but most of the trees were still green. By the time we returned to camp, we had gone eight miles.

On Sunday, we attempted a more ambitious hike to Alander Mountain (2,250 feet). We started on the South Taconic Trail at 1,000 feet. The trail climbed steeply after the Bashbish cabin area until we got to a ridge with views of New York to the west and Massachusetts to the east. After several miles of relatively flat hiking, the trail rose again to the summit of Alander Mountain. Two of us stayed there, and Ken and I hiked the Alander Loop. We turned east following the blue blazes. Near the beginning of the loop, we found a hiker’s cabin, signed the guestbook and took some photos. The trail descended gradually and eventually met the South Taconic Trail (white blazes). The South Taconic Trail then climbed sharply for over 600 feet. Going up was highly aerobic.

It was also getting late. We reached the summit of Alander Mountain at 5:03 and found a note from our friends that they had left a few minutes earlier. I told Ken that I wanted to eat and that he could go ahead. I ate, put on more layers of clothing, and carefully walked down the mountain in the dusk and in the dark. I used a headlamp.

Ken caught up with our other two friends. The three of them shared two flashlights, and they also climbed down in the dark. They reached the campsite around 7:15, and I got there about 7:30.

It rained briefly, and I retreated into my tent to rest and change my clothing. When I emerged, everyone else had eaten but was very tired. I made dinner, sat around the campfire, and cleaned up the picnic tables after everyone went to sleep.

We packed up and left on Monday morning.

David Levner